Letter From the Pastor October 27

Dear Friends,

Once again, I would like to invite you to take part in the festivities hosted by the Newman Center during Homecoming Weekend. This year will be a special time of celebration as we mark the 50th Anniversary of the dedication and blessing of the Newman Center Church.

For those of you that don’t know the history – for 10 years, the Center was located at the corner of 3rd and Cherry (on the property currently occupied by the Flandrau Planetarium. When the UofA decided to expand campus all the way out to Campbell Ave., a land swap was negotiated by which the University acquired land owned by the Church and the Center was moved to a lot which was technically “off-campus.” We acquired a vacant lot on which new buildings would be built and a complex of small married-student apartments which could be re-purposed into a “rectory” and offices. The land swap also included some money to help pay for the building, but more money had to be raised. The new building was finally approved in 1962, but was not built until 1963. The older Center had been a multi-purpose building with a small chapel that could accommodate small Masses. The “crown jewel” of the new Newman Center was a “church that looked like a church” and could accommodate 300 worshipers in a single Mass. The Church tower with surmounted by and bearing the image of St. Thomas More declared to any passer-by the purpose of this building.

November 8-10, we will celebrate under the title “50 Years of Proclaiming the Gospel at the Corner of 2nd and Cherry”. Details of events are shown above. But I would like you to contact your friends and family members who have been involved in the Newman Center in the past and invite them to celebrate with us on this important occasion.